Property agents spy window of opportunity for creative advertising

Times are tough for everyone, but especially property agents. They mix shark's fin with rice for lunch, as the Cantonese saying goes, when the going is good, but are usually among the first to be laid off when the economy takes a dive.

Some 700 Centaline Property agents have been let go since June, while subsidiary Ricacorp Properties has laid off 200 staff. Centaline plans to reduce the number of branches from 240 to 180. Midland Realty and subsidiary Hong Kong Properties have seen comparable levels of layoffs.

So when the going gets tough, the tough get, well, creative. Some Centaline agents in Mid-Levels have resorted to unconventional slogans for their shop windows, such as the ones shown here. They're not just 'low property prices'. Now they are: Iceland prices; Lehman Brothers victims' prices; Blown-to-bits prices; Haemorrhaged prices; Hero's severed arm prices.

The last one is apparently a literary reference to a hero in a famous martial arts novel who fought on even after an arm was cut off. Perhaps it means keep fighting on even in these hopeless times?

'Our frontline colleagues come up with these slogans. They best understand their clients' needs and thinking, and the slogans reflect that,' a Centaline public relations minder said.

She was not sure whether they help sell flats, though. 'The slogans certainly help attract attention. But in the end, it still depends on the sellers and the extent they are willing to take losses.'